Yusufu Bala Usman (1945 – 24 September 2005) was a Nigerian historian and politician, who was one of the scholars who shaped Nigerian historiography. He was the founder of the Centre for Democratic Development, Research and Training at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
Life
Usman was born in
Musawa
Musawa is a Local Government Area in Katsina State, Nigeria. Its headquarters are in the town of Musawa.
It has an area of and a population of 171,714 at the 2006 census.
The postal code
A postal code (also known locally in various Engli ...
, Katsina State, his father was Durbin of Katsina and brother of
Usman Nagogo
Alhaji Sir Usman Nagogo dan Muhammadu Dikko (1905 – 18 March 1981) was Emir of Katsina (''Sarkin Katsina'') from 19 May 1944, until his death. A Fulani from the Sullubawa Clan, he succeeded his father, Muhammadu Dikko, as Emir, and was suc ...
, his paternal grandfather was Sarkin Katsina
Muhammadu Dikko
Alhaji Muhammadu Dikko also known as Muhammad Dikko dan Gidado (1865 – May 1944), was the 47th Emir of Katsina from 9 November 1906 until his death in 1944. He was the ninth Fulani emir, as well as the first emir from the current ruling Sullu ...
Dan Gidado and his mother was a daughter of
Abdullahi Bayero, former Emir of
Kano
Kano may refer to:
Places
*Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria
* Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State
**Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries
**Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between ...
. He attended Musawa Junior Primary School, Kankia Senior Primary School, Minna Senior Primary School and Government College, Kaduna. He then went to study at the University Tutorial College and then at
University of Lancaster
, mottoeng = Truth lies open to all
, established =
, endowment = £13.9 million
, budget = £317.9 million
, type = Public
, city = Bailrigg, City of Lancaster
, country = England
, coor =
, campus = Bailrigg
, faculty = ...
where he completed his studies with a degree in History and Political Science. He returned to Nigeria in 1967 to become a teacher at
Barewa College, Zaria where he taught until 1971. Usman started his graduate studies in 1970 at Ahmadu Bello University, earning his PhD degree in 1974. He started lecturing at the university as a part-time lecturer before being promoted to full-time.
During the Nigerian Second Republic, he was briefly the Secretary to the Kaduna State government under the
PRP led
Balarabe Musa administration.
Academic career
Usman was a major figure among post colonial historians at Ahmadu Bello University, his outlook on African history involves support for the use of oral and linguistic sources along with written and archaeological sources. He felt all sources are subject to bias and that increased scrutiny of oral sources for distortions and colourings was not extended to many written sources by European writers. To him, the historian cannot be divorced from his education and molding as a scholar and the
historicity
Historicity is the historical actuality of persons and events, meaning the quality of being part of history instead of being a historical myth, legend, or fiction. The historicity of a claim about the past is its factual status. Historicity denot ...
of the European writers likely influenced some of their writings. Some of his reflections on the writing of African history includes a critique of
Heinrich Barth
Johann Heinrich Barth (; ; 16 February 1821 – 25 November 1865) was a German explorer of Africa and scholar.
Barth is thought to be one of the greatest of the European explorers of Africa, as his scholarly preparation, ability to speak and wri ...
, a respected source among Western scholars, Usman thought Barth was too focused on the physical and genetic characteristics of those he was studying which he felt was a result of the dominant traditions of nineteenth century European history writing.
References
Sources
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Usman, Bala
1945 births
2005 deaths
20th-century Nigerian historians
Academic staff of Ahmadu Bello University
Historians of Nigeria